Final drive for vehicles



June 14, 1927. 1,631,996

- G. WIRRER FINAL DRIVE FOR VEH ICLES Filed March- 11, 1925 IWI 'HI "Ill II-HII awwntoz Gofffried Win-61 Patented une 1-4, 1927.

' UNITED STA TES rfATENr orrlcs.

GOTTFRIED WIRRER, OF PLAINIIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 INTEBNATTONAL MOTOR COMPANY, ,OI NEW YORK, N. "1., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

FINAL DRIVE FOR VEHICLES.-

Application filed March 11, 1825. 'Serial No. 14,628.

through a single bevel gear to the master gearof the difierential'carried on the rear axle, as in usual constructions, in the sizes and diameters practical in the final drives .of motor vehicles to secure adequate ground clearance'because the lateral thrust on the final drive pinion and the master gear of the differential results in such reaction at the point where the drive pinion engages the ring gear as to cause breakage of teeth especially under heavy loads when the alignment is -not exactly correct. The dual re duction type of axle in'which the final driving is done by a large spur gear has been resorted to onheavy. duty motor vehicles such as buses driven at high speed but this involves additional unsprung weight on the axle. It is an object of the present invention to provide a final drive'for motor vehicles which shall eliminate the excessive thrust upon the driving gears while at the same time permitting the use of a prime mover-delivering power in greater degree than has heretofore been deemed practical. Accordingly power dividingvmeans such as differential gearing is carried by the chassis.

The propeller shaft drives a differential gear and the power is divided by it and distributed' to independent live axle sections upon which the respective driving wheels are mounted. More particularly the' propeller shaft causes the revolution of a housing carrying the planetary pinions of thedifierential and these pinions engage a'bevel gear keyed to a shaft which extends to one of the live axle sections and is operatively connected thereto through a bevel pinion mesh- "ing with a final drive pinion carried with the axle. The planetary pinions also mesh with a bevel gear carried with asleeve concentric with the shaft and carrying a spur gear which meshes with a spur gear carried 1n the length of the shafts h and i, re-

with a shaft extending rearwardly to the other live axle section and is operatively connected thereto by a gearing similar to the connectionbetween: the first named shaft and the live axle section driven thereby. The

bevel pinions carried with the inner ends of the respective live axle sections are so spectivefinal dive pinions is mutually reslsted. In the preferredv embodiment they are arranged back to back and suitable bearlngs interposed directly between them.

The invention will now be described in greater detail in connection with the accompanying drawing, illustratingin horizontal plan and partly in section, a preferred embodiment thereof in which power dividing mea'nsis shown as carried upon the chassis frame and this power istransmitted by appropriate shafting and gearing to live axle members.

One of the driving wheels a of a motor veh cle is illustrated as carriedwith the end of a live axle section b rotatable within the dead axle c from which the chassis of the vehicle is supported by the usual springs, a fragmentary portion of which is illustrated at d. Mounted in any convenient manner frame is a differential gearing comprising a housin f adapted to be rotated'bythe propeller/ shaft 9' andcarrying planetary pinions f which mesh with a bevel gear h.

carried with a shaft h extending rearwardly to the live axle b,- suitably supported in bearingsin the housing 0 forming the.

separated that the reaction between the re- \upon cross members 6, e of the chassis I with a bevel pinion b keyed to the live axle section b.

Bevel pinions f also mesh with a bevel gear 11 carried with a sleeve.i concentric with the shafflvh. The sleeve 6'' has keyed.

orotherwise rigidly secured thereto a spur gear *2? meshing with a .spurgear i carried with a shaft 1} also extending rearwardly to the other live axle section B carried with the driving wheel upon the opposite side of the vehicle (not. shown). Live axle section B has keyed thereto a bevel gear B which his in mesh with a bevel pinion i carriedin similar manner to the bevel pinion h onthe shaft h.

Suitable universal joints may be-disposed is divided by means of the differential f and in equal proportion to thelive axle sections It will be observed from an inspection of the drawings that the final bevel gears b B are carried with the ends of the axles b, B in opposed relation and a thrust bearing j is disposed therebetween. Reaction between .the final drive pinion 71. and its bevel gear 6 and between the final drive pinion i and it bevel gear B is mutually resisted. throug the interposed thrust bearing 7'.

' It will, of course, be understood that the differential gearing carried with the chassis frame is disposed within a suitable housing and that suitable bearings for the shafts h and i are provided upon the chassis frame and housing '0, respectively. These may take any form and no limitation is intended by the arrangement illustrated inthe draw- %$y mounting the differential upon the chassis frame the rear axle is relieved from considerable unsprung weight. B the construction illustrated each of the ax e sections is subjected to only half of'the total power developed by the prime mover. As a conse-' queue, for instance, the vehicle may be equipped with an engine of say 150 horsepower and only 75 horse power will be directed to each .of the live axle sections and the gearing associated therewith. The gearing is thus subjected to only that degree of driving torque which it is able to with-- stand. v

Various modifications may be made in the form and disposition of the co-operating' elements going to form the present invention. For instance a chain drive might readily be substituted for the respective shafts h and i to transmit the drive from the power dividing unit to the respective live axle section. No limitation is intended by the specification or drawings appended hereto exce t as indicated in the annexed claims.

atIclaim is: y 1. In a motor vehicle having a; chassis frame, the combination with a pair of live axle sections and a propeller shaft, of differential gearing carried with the chassis frame and havin two driving elements means to drive the riving elements of the differential from the propeller shaft, a longitudinally extending shaft, a sleeve concentric with-the shaft, a second longitudinally extending shaft, 0 erative connections between the first named ongitudinally extendin shaft and one element of the differentia, operative connections between the sleeve and the other element of the differential, operative connections between said sleeve and the second named longitudinally extending shaft, bevel gearing connecting said first named longi tudinally extending shaft and one of the live axle sections and opposed bevel gearing connecting said second named longitudinally extending axle sectlons, and a single thrust bearing to oppose the thrusts on the gearing on the live axle-motions.

2. In ,a motor .vehicle having a chassis frame, the-combination with a pair of live axle sections and a propeller shaft, of differential gearing carried with the chassis frame and comprising a housing, means to rotate the housing from the propeller shaft,

planetary pinions carried with the housing,

a longitudinally extending shaft, a bevel gear carried with the shaft and meshing with the planetary pinions, a sleeve concentric with the shaft, :1. bevel gear carried with the sleeve and meshing with the planetary pinions, a spur gear carried with the sleeve, a second longitudinally extendin shaft, a spur gear carried with the secon shaft and meshing with the first named spur gear, bevel pinions carried with the ends of the longitudinally extending shafts, bevel gears carried with the live axle sections and ly, and a thrust bearing between the last named beveled gears.

This-specification signed this 6th day of I shaft and the other ofthe live meshing with said bevel pinions, respective- 

